United Airlines CEO Issues Letter Addressing Safety Concerns

United Airlines appointed Estee Lauder executive Michelle Freyre to its board of directors Monday, making her the second woman to join the carrier’s board this year. 

United Airlines is offering pilots unpaid time off in May due to delivery delays with Boeing aircraft, the airline confirmed Monday. 

On this episode about Boeing's woes and air safety, clockwise from top left: Aviation reporters Robert Silk of Travel Weekly and David Slotnick of The Points Guy, and Folo host Rebecca Tobin.

Southwest Airlines announced the return of its Companion Pass promotion. 

Although a federal judge dashed his hopes for a merger with JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines’ chief commercial officer still believes that more airline consolidation will come.

February air ticket sales totaled a record $8.9 billion in February for U.S. travel agencies, a figure that is 6 percent higher the same time last year.This February’s staggering air ticket sales also represent the second straight month that agency sales hit such highs, according to Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC).“Americans continue to prioritize domestic travel in the early part of the year, with year-over-year trips to U.S. destinations outpacing those of international trips,” said Steve Solomon, chief commercial officer at ARC, said in a statement. “Airlines are seeing robust demand from both corporate and leisure travelers, signaling the continued health and anticipated growth in air travel for 2024.”February ancillary sales increased 34 percent year over year to $29 million, while ancillary transactions increased 47 percent to 476,633 over the same period.The ticket sales results are based on monthly sales data ending February 29, 2024, according to ARC.The information was gathered from 10,367 U.S. retail and corporate travel agency locations, satellite ticket printing offices and online travel agencies. The results, however, do not include sales of tickets purchased directly from airlines.Additional highlights from the latest ARC report include:

The start of 2024 has brought a barrage of concerning headlines about commercial air travel.

The most difficult leg of a trip—especially on long international journeys—is making that last flight connection or lengthy ground transfer to your final destination. Those final couple hours in transit, when the effects of jet lag are rearing up and patience is running thin, can be laborious and time-consuming, but are often necessary in order to reach some of the world's most remote destinations.

In recent weeks, United Airlines aircraft have experienced at least 10 maintenance and flight diversion issues, some more dramatic than others. While United CEO Scott Kirby issued a statement this week saying the issues were “all unrelated” and “have our attention and have sharpened our focus,” nervous fliers may be wondering if this “focus” is enough.

United announced Thursday it will allow friends and family to create joint accounts to pool frequent flier miles through its loyalty program. 

The airline industry barely survived its last black swan event, the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2020, U.S. passenger numbers dropped by almost 95%. By June of that year, some 16,000 planes had been taken out of service.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby sought to reassure travelers that safety is the carrier’s highest priority following a series of mishaps with its Boeing jets.